Girl Guides: Review of the Monster Diamond Tears headphones

QUICK LOOK
- Pillow-soft ear cushions
- High-performance sound
- ControlTalk functionality
- Tangle-free cables
- Cleaning cloth included
- Compatible with iPod, iPhone and iPad

“Ooooh pretty” is the first reaction to these sparkly headphones. Monster has done a brilliant job to make a set of headphones that appeal to the fashion conscious music lover who value looking good without compromising on sound quality. Bear in mind that you may get a few stares and people will look at you funny. This is possibly because they’re blinded by the sparkling lights reflecting off the mirror finish.

Head on over here to read my full review…

Cooking Indian cuisine

Last night we had the pleasure of joining some of the Waggener Edstrom team at the Good Food Studio on William Nicol in Sandton to learn the basics of Indian cuisine. Although I’m not a fan of spicy food, and Indian cuisine is usually quite flavoursome, I was excited to learn a few new things and see where I could potentially leave out the spices yet keep the flavour.

We started off with making chicken samoosas…

We cooked the minced chicken first and then added chopped onion, garlic, some chilli, and a combination of spices. The mixture then simmered for a while to allow the spices time to mix in with the other ingredients. We were then given a demonstration of how to fill and fold the samoosa. You have no idea how simple this was! If you are a tad on the OCD side like I am and you fold up your plastic shopping bags to keep them neat, then you already know how to fold a samoosa. Yes, it’s that easy! The sheets of samoosa pastry come cut and ready to use, and apparently they are available in the freezer section of your grocery store. I haven’t seen them before but that’s probably because I haven’t been looking for them. (Definitely going to keep an eye out for them next time, otherwise I’ll just head over to the Pick ‘n Pay on William Nicol and buy a few.)

Here’s my darling husband watching over the cooking of the samoosa filling.

And here’s the final product. The green dip we didn’t get to make ourselves but it was a delicious minty coriander concoction. (A side note to mention that as my samoosas were all perfectly shaped and the same size, they were used on the plate.)

The main course was seared lamb chops that were then simmered in a sauce made up of tomatoes, spices, diced onions, chilli, ginger and garlic. This was accompanied with a lentil curry which had been made by the instructor to save some time. Unfortunately I didn’t manage to take any pics of the main course we made because I just wanted to tuck in. Unfortunately for my tastebuds, my dear husband failed to taste the sauce as he was making it so it ended up being really spicy, which meant I only tasted one mouthful!

The last pic I just had to share was the roof and wall decor where we sat to enjoy our meal… Doesn’t it just make you want to “lick the chocolate wall”?!

I’m really eager to go back to the studio and partake in a few other lessons.

Thanks again to the Good Food Studio team and to Waggener Edstrom for extending the invite.

Girl Guides: Review of the Mophie Juice Pack Helium

QUICK LOOK
- Full protective cover
- LED power indicator
- Standby switch to charge on the go
- USB charger
- Headphone jack extender
- Available in dark metallic or silver metallic
- Compatible with iPhone 5 (options are available for older iPhones)

With phone’s battery lives decreasing, and our need to be available at any time of the day or night, the Mophie Juice Pack Helium really is becoming a necessity. Its built-in battery literally allows you just to flip a switch when you need more power.

Click here to read the full feature review…

Instagram Friday

1. The napkin detail for a recent event in the Drakensberg. I single handedly folded 600 napkins for this function!
2. The gorgeous handmade cake decorations for a first birthday/christening event.
3. Heart detail in a garden for the first birthday event.
4. I am absolutely in love with cabbage flowers!
5. The China Discount Mall in Randburg looks gorgeous at night.
6. A delicious Amarula-infused chocolate mousse I enjoyed while in CT last week.

On resigning

Recently work hasn’t been all cupcakes and rainbows. And if I’m completely honest with myself, I haven’t been happy for quite some time. So two weeks ago I decided it was time to look for more challenges, more growth opportunities, more fun, and so I resigned.

Yes, I resigned!

For anyone that knows me (or my boss for that matter), this was quite a feat. I resigned without having something new lined up. I resigned to give myself the proverbial kick up the ass that I so needed to get my head and heart right.

The boss took the news quite calmly. Not at all how I had expected him too. But this calm acceptance was good. He knew I was serious. And I knew he was taking it seriously. I mentioned that I had a person in mind as my replacement and just like that she was called in for an interview the following day. And the day after the interview a letter of offer was sent through. Just like that! Just like that I had resigned and replaced myself and I felt great! A load that I never realised was pressing down on me was suddenly lifted off my shoulders.

I have given my boss (and me) a nice long notice period so now the job hunt begins…

It’s all worthwhile in the end

…Especially when you get a thank you note like this:

Thank you so so so much for organising the most sensational day. We were blown away by how beautiful everything was and so were our guests. You guys totally rock!

When I get a little note like this after a wedding, it makes the months of planning and organising, the countless phone calls and email correspondence (with the bride and suppliers), the stress (and tears) all worth it.

For Sale signs

Previously For Sale signs meant a Sunday (or five) spent driving from show-house to show-house in search of our first home. It meant having to deal with estate agents trying to sell you a home that would be cheaper to demolish rather than being “a renovator’s dream” or “just in need of a coat of paint” (or so their ads say). There were often times that we made arrangements to meet an estate agent at a home for an after hours viewing, and felt obliged to view the house even though we knew it wasn’t for us just by seeing the front gate.

As an aside, there was one home we viewed in the middle of “Dodge-ville” that left us wanting to scrub the house off of us it was so disgusting! The carpets looked like they had never seen a vacuum cleaner. And the owners/tenants had AK-47′s and other guns on the wall. Uhm…ya… But now there’s an estate agent wanting to show you around. And you feel the need to say “Ooooh! What big rooms!” even though they smell of wet dog and look like a cat threw up in them.

So now that we’re over the drama that comes with buying a new home, For Sale signs now mean something else entirely!

Our neighbour must have recently met with an estate agent because late last week we saw the For Sale signs going up. This is a great thing considering these neighbours have zero security and live at their Vaal Dam home for most of the month. And as my mind is wont to do, I have thought up all sorts of elaborate things as to what will happen when we get new neighbours…

Like they’ll be a young couple, also recently married, and we will become the best of friends. And then they’ll have kids close to when we do and then our kids will grow up being good friends.

Or like the new home owners will be big on security and will approach us to get the boundary walls made taller (for more privacy) and to ask if they can put electric fencing up (without us having to ask or even pay towards it).

Or, the best idea of all, my sister and her family move next door and then I’ll get to see them all the time!

I know that these are all the ideal situation. I know that we may be forced to live next door to people who are loud or who’s dogs bark all the time. They may not even want to be friends or neighbourly. Perhaps you need to tell me your horror neighbour stories so I can get myself ready and prepared…

Nothing beats a Sunday Roast

On Sunday afternoon I was treated to a delicious roast buffet lunch at Punchinello’s Restaurant at Southern Sun Montecasino.

The Sunday Roast buffet lunch costs R170.00 per person and includes a welcome drink (we had the option of sangria, champagne, or cranberry juice) – all other drinks would be for your account.

We started off with a delicious creamy tomato soup and the most amazing bread rolls. We followed that with a serving from the Mediterranean anti pasta table – cold meats and seafood, cheese and crackers, salad items, cold veggies (the butternut was divine). Then we took a little break before heading over to dish up our main course. I had roast beef with gravy, more butternut, yummy potatoes, and a mini pizza.

Our table was set up close to the dessert station. Eyeing the desserts available ensured I had smaller helpings of the “proper” food and kept space for the delectable yummies awaiting me. See what I mean…

I had a chocolate nut brownie, some lemony-creamy dessert, and some strawberry ice-cream. And OH-MY-WORD that ice-cream was delicious! If I had had any more space left in my tummy I would definitely have had seconds!

I really had such a great time and would definitely go back and take my family with me. If you’re looking for a fabulous Sunday lunch (available between 13h00 and 15h00) at a very reasonable rate, then call and make a booking (011 367 4367).

What’s in a name?

When you’re in the business of planning weddings sometimes things can get confusing!

We deal with the same preferred suppliers for each of our events and it has become necessary to be sickeningly specific when being in touch. For instance, whenever we send an email to a supplier, the subject line states the wedding and the date like so: Jane Smith wedding > 1 February 2012. This means that whenever we correspond, we are both on the same page as to the wedding we are talking about.

Now this year is more confusing than ever as we have a bunch of Sarah’s and Nicole’s/Nicola’s getting married. I’m not sure if there is something in the air this year but I may lose a few brain cells working on these projects and remembering who is who.

The Sarah’s…
We had a Sarah B in March.
We have a Sarah H in July.
And we have a Sarah B in August.

The Nicole’s/Nicola’s…
We have a Nicola in May.
Followed by a Nicole the week after.
And then another Nicole in December.

Buttery goodness

We were in need of a lazy night on the couch last night so we got in our pyjamas, made some popcorn and selected a movie called Butter. We had no idea what to expect when we pressed play but I must say I’m really pleased we did.

The movie is narrated by a little girl who has moved from foster family to foster family. She is finally adopted by a family in a small town in Iowa only to discover that the town is a little mad about their butter… The town has an annual butter carving contest which has been won by the same man for the last 15 years. She discovers a hidden talent for butter carving when she finds herself competing against a very ambitious local woman (played by Jennifer Garner).

I wouldn’t have ordinarily picked this movie but it’s one of those films that once you’ve watched it, you wonder why you hadn’t watched it before. It’s a feel-good, warm-your-heart movie that reminded me of Little Miss Sunshine.

If you’re still not sure you want to watch it, just take a look at the trailer below…